Chrysalis Day Nursery & Pre-School
OutstandingBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Loughton for children from birth to 5, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in November 2022. Open since 2012, with 49 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Essex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Essex from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
IG10 1QPWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 21 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children flourish in this exceptional nursery. They develop strong bonds with the nurturing and attentive staff. This ensures that children settle quickly and feel safe and secure. Children behave exceptionally well. They are instinctively kind towards their peers. Toddlers learn how to care for others as they bath dolls and put nappies on them. Older children take time to listen to each other as they share their experiences of what books they read at home.
Children benefit from a rich and exciting curriculum, which supports their learning across all areas. They sustain high levels of concentration and are highly motivated to join in. For instance, children enjoy making their own dough. They mix the ingredients together and giggle as the flour 'puffs into the air'. The outside area offers the same enticing learning environment as inside, giving children who prefer to learn outside the same rich experiences. Children enjoy smelling different herbs in the mud kitchen and explore using different tools to mark make with paint on easels.
Children are extremely independent. They serve their own lunch and independently scrape their own plates. Children learn about the importance of good hygiene routines from an early age. Special responsibilities such as 'helper of the day' help to develop children's characters and raise their self-esteem. They learn about what makes them unique as they share family photos.
- 21 November 2022Outstanding
- 14 February 2017Good
- 12 November 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Chrysalis Day Nursery & Pre-School
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.